Belarus: Cryptocurrencies and ICOs Are Legal Now

Belarus is a country located in Eastern Europe. Its economy has been on slow growth. And IT industry is the only one that is promising with some world recognized works like the game World of Tanks.

Even Facebook and Alphabet have bought up some startups based in Belarus.

Alexander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus, has signed a decree on 29th December. And that legalizes Cryptocurrency transactions, conversions from and to fiat currencies, and Initial Coin Offerings (A controversial fundraising model which made over 4 billion USD in 2017).

Tax-Free

Moreover, the added advantage is being tax-free for five years. Nobody is liable to report capital gains, or any kind of profits made with the Cryptocurrencies and Initial coin offerings till January 1, 2023.

Through this initiative, the Belarussian government hopes to attract crypto startups, exchanges, and businesses.

Currently, Japanese and U.S.A markets dominate the market with sixty percent overall trading volume. On the other hand, the Hong Kong and South Korea have been very competitive markets. And all the other markets are far behind the competition.

Add-Ons

The regulation also grants legal status for mining, smart contracts, and blockchain development. And there will be no tax on mining activities on par with the Cryptocurrency trading.

In-depth

In general, all the laws in Belarus will be in force after three months of the official publication. So, the crypto-companies have to wait a little more.

Minsk, the capital and the largest populous city of Belarus, has a thriving IT industry set up in the High-Tech Park (HTP). With the new law, there are inclusions for the HTP to extend the special legal status till 2049. So, the companies specializing in an emerging list of technologies can easily become the residents of HTP.

Also, companies located in HTP can sign deals with third parties using English Law which has been introduced due to the lack of easiness in understanding the local law.